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The University is governed by a bicameral system, consisting of the Senate and the Board of Governors, both of which are administered by the University Secretariat. The powers of the Board of Governors are determined in Section 12 of the Wilfrid Laurier University Act of 1973 as amended in 2001.

The Act gives the Board of Governors the power of government of the university and the control of its property and revenues.The conduct of its business and affairs, except with respect to matters assigned by the Act to Senate, is vested in the Board of Governors.The Board has all the powers necessary or convenient to perform its duties and to achieve the objectives of the university.

The Act provides for broad representation on the Board of Governors to ensure that all members of the University community have a voice and input.In keeping with the principles of shared governance, there is strong representation from Senate on the Board of Governors, including three faculty representatives elected from Senate; and the Chancellor and President & Vice-Chancellor who are ex officio members of the Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors has 34 members, of which five are faculty (three elected from Senate), three are students (two undergraduate and one graduate), two are administrative staff, and three are alumni.In addition, the Board of Governors includes six members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of the Province, eight members from the community-at-large to represent a broad spectrum of the public, two appointed by the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary and three appointed through the Cities of Waterloo and Kitchener and Regional Municipality of Waterloo.As noted above, both the Chancellor and the President & Vice-Chancellor of the University are also ex officio members of the Board of Governors.

In recommending individuals for appointment to the Board of Governors the Nominations Committee considers the competencies needed for the Board, succession planning, and providing for representation from the communities in which Laurier has campuses and offices (Kitchener-Waterloo, Brantford and Toronto).

The Board of Governors generally meets five times each year between September and June.There are currently eight standing committees and two sub-committees that meet on a regular basis throughout the year to review and recommend Board action in the areas within the control of the Board of Governors.